


They Only Learn When It’s Too Late

by enydwi (royal_with_a_story)



Series: Spooky Action [2]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Afterlife, Hurt Tony Stark, M/M, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-16 03:33:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29818779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/royal_with_a_story/pseuds/enydwi
Relationships: Loki/Tony Stark
Series: Spooky Action [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2032963
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	They Only Learn When It’s Too Late

Tony’s eyes shot open as he gasped for breaths that never came. Why couldn’t he breathe? Why was his chest so tight? Why was he cold? Panicking would only make things worse, he remembered. His rising heartbeat would only need more air and would kill him quicker.

Why wasn’t his body reacting to not breathing?

His mind definitely was, but as he tried to tune in with his body, apart from the odd aches and pains and being so cold, his body wasn’t reacting negatively. He held his breath, only to find that nothing came of it.

He looked around, only to see darkness. He saw that he couldn’t quite make out anything around him, no source of light to help his eyes. He thought back to the last thing he could see. Loki.

“Loki?” He yelled out as he stood up, wincing at the aches and stiffness of his joints as he did.

When he got no reply, he wasn’t stupid enough to yell out again. That would just be stupid. If there were people looking for him, they’d already heard his voice once. He didn’t want to give them another chance to find him.

He started to walk forwards, as if he was being pulled. That was impossible though, right? It was as if his body knew the way to go but wouldn’t communicate with his mind. He tapped his wrist, expecting to feel the familiar bracelet his glove was kept in, but was only met with a sleeve. His shoulders tensed as he realised that he was completely unarmed. That couldn’t be good. Why would anyone steal his weapon? Well, obvious reasons, but none good. All he wanted was to live happily with Loki by his side. Why did that all seem impossible?

For once in his life, he was happy. He had something - someone - to live for. He couldn’t lose that. He needed to get back to Loki, whatever it took. The last time he saw Loki, he was...

Loki was crying.

Why? What- oh. It was as if his body went cold as he realised what had happened. He’d died. He felt himself die. He remembered saying goodbye to Loki. All because Thanos was about to turn around to kill Loki. And now he was dead

Shit.

His whole body came to a stop as the memories hit him. He was dead. He had to be. It explained why he couldn’t breathe. It explained why he was so cold. So that was the afterlife? Looked like hell, but that was where he’d go if he actually believed in god. That’s what he thought, anyway. It all checked out. 

Tony took a deep breath as he took a look around, still only seeing darkness. He followed the path his body seemed to know, finding that the further he got the lighter the path got. He took a deep breath as he finally looked up, seeing a throne made of bones. That wasn’t intimidating at all. 

He marvelled at the figure sat on the throne, her face hidden by her hood, a black cloak draped over her body. Death. Had to be. Who else dressed like that when it wasn’t Halloween? 

“Anthony Edward Stark,” the voice said, her voice echoing into nowhere. “I didn’t expect to see you so soon.”

Tony sighed. “Didn’t expect to be here so soon either.” He looked around, seeing nothing but the throne. “So this is hell?”

“Hell?” The figure seemed to chuckle. “No. This is the Between. This is where I rule.” She cocked her head. “You seem calm.”

Tony shrugged. “This is always the endgame, right? I always had to die at some point. What’s the point in fretting over it?” He asked, a brow raised as he did. “So what’s the deal here?”

The figure thought for a second. “Normally people mourn their life for a bit then move on. Unless they can’t move on, then they stay here.” She shrugged. 

“Move on where?” Tony asked. 

“Either their heaven or their hell,” the figure replied. “You’ll either go to your best place, or your worst place, depending on what happens. Any other questions?”

Tony thought for a second. He wanted to know if he’d ever get to see Loki again, if he’d ever get to see his friends again. Would he be able to see Peggy? Jarvis? He didn’t want to be alone for all of eternity. Maybe that would be his bad place. 

“What’s your name?” He found himself asking, only to silently curse himself as soon as the words came out of his mouth. 

The figure chuckled. “You can call me Lady Death.” Tony could practically hear her smile. 

“Okay, Lady Death.” He took a deep breath. “Will I ever see my family again? What about my friends?”

“On Halloween, spirits can roam free.” The figure went quiet for a few seconds. “Otherwise... unless they summon you and the spell is strong enough to hold, then no. Well, unless they die and happen to come here at the same time as you.”

Tony frowned. “What about when they die?”

Lady Death shook her head. “Unless you’re still here, then no.”

Tony nodded, looking away as he felt the lump in his throat grow. He wanted to see Loki more than anything. Hell, he’d die again if it meant he could see him, but... he didn’t want Loki to die. That couldn’t happen. That could never happen. 

“Okay. That’s... that’s all I had,” he replied quietly, trying his best to keep his cool. 

Lady Death sighed. “I didn’t expect to see you here so soon.”

Tony looked at her. “You said.”

“I don’t think that this is the time you die, Anthony.” She looked up at him, revealing her skeletal face. 

Tony’s eyes widened. “Could you elaborate, please?”

“You shouldn’t have died. But here you are.” She frowned. “I think we could work something out.”

Tony raised a brow. “I’m listening.”

Lady Death smiled a joyless smile. “If you can get me the souls I need, then you can go. I’ll resurrect you.”

“But if I don’t?” He asked. 

He couldn’t figure out the worst case. He got sent to the worst place he could be? Fine. He’d work it out. It couldn’t be worse than living with Howard. He never got to see Loki again? That... that would be hard. Then again, what were the odds of him seeing Loki again anyway? The deal was giving him hope, and there wasn’t anything that could take it away. 

“Then you die.”


End file.
